MR. McCLELLAN: Let's get started. Upon arrival in El Dorado, the
Freedom Corps greeter is Joe McFadden. He is an active volunteer in
various organizations in the El Dorado area, including the El Dorado
Junior Chamber of Commerce, or the JCS, which promotes -- an
organization which promotes that community involvement, fosters
fellowship among members through leadership training for individuals
between the ages of 21 to 39. He's also a volunteer with Main Street
El Dorado, a group dedicated to revitalizing downtown El Dorado.

Then the President will participate in a conversation on job
training and the economy. The participants there include the President
of South Arkansas Community College, which is where we will be; it
includes two students from the community college, a coordinator for
Arkansas State Scholars, which is a program the President will talk
about in his remarks; and the superintendent of the El Dorado Public
Schools, and a local small business employer.

And you all have the fact sheet for today. The President will talk
about -- continue to talk about what we are doing to make sure we have
an educated work force for the 21st century. And he'll talk about --
specifically today -- about how better education means better,
high-paying jobs for America's workers, and particularly in those
high-growth sectors of the economy, which are the technical fields, the
health care industry, and jobs in computers and math-related areas.
And the President will emphasize the importance of making sure that
young Americans have the skills needed to fill these high-paying,
high-growth jobs of the future.

And I'll skip over the fact sheet and go straight to questions.

Q I've got a few questions about this fact sheet. You want to
redirect a billion dollars away from the Perkins. Does that threat now
undermine the Perkins? And what's its budget a year? What are you
taking out of it?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, it's actually to make sure that you have a
rigorous curriculum as part of the program, to encourage students to
take rigorous course work so that they are learning the skills they
need to fill these jobs, these high-paying jobs of the 21st century --

Q A million dollars out of Perkins -- how do you back-fill
that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, it's going into the secondary and technical
education program, and it's making sure that, as it says, that we're
better serving the needs of workers for the 21st century.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, look, as we've always said, those are
decisions that the President leaves to military leaders to make. And
the President always wants to make sure that our military has all the
resources they need to do their job. But in terms of decisions about
troop levels, those are decisions he leaves to the military leaders who
are in the best position to make those decisions.

Q Have they made a request of that nature?

MR. McCLELLAN: You need to direct those questions to the
military. I've seen a lot of different reports on that today.

Q Has the President expressed any concern to defend Secretary
Rumsfeld or to any of the military commanders that perhaps the drawdown
was premature?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, you're asking about troop level support;
those are questions to direct to the military --

Q I'm asking about the President's view of this.

MR. McCLELLAN: The President -- and I'm telling you the
President's view. Those are decisions he believes should be left to
our military leaders who are in the field and in the best position to
make those decisions. And our -- the President's role is to make sure
that our troops have all the resources to do their job.

Q But even with the deployment of troops for the operation in
Fallujah, we lost more Marines today. What is the President's concern
about the situation? Is it, in fact, a rebellion, and not just the
actions of 0--

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I don't think I would look at it that way at
all. I think that, again, this is what the President talked a little
bit about -- has talked about this recently a good bit. This is a time
of testing. There are those who are opposed to democracy and freedom
in Iraq. They represent a small minority. The vast majority of the
Iraqi people want democracy and freedom. They want a better future, a
future that moves away from the past of an oppressive regime that was
built around torture chambers and mass graves and rape rooms. So this
is a time when there are thugs and terrorists in Iraq who are trying to
shake our will. And the President is firmly committed to showing
resolve and strength during this time of testing. They cannot shake
our will.

Q Ambassador Bremer tried to characterize this not just as a
sectarian problem between Shiites and Sunnis and the coalitions that
are there, but rather 10 percent of the people don't want to see a
transition to democracy. Why this change in characterization?

MR. McCLELLAN: What do you mean change in characterization? I
disagree that's a change in characterization.

Q But what is it?

MR. McCLELLAN: We've always talked about the thugs and terrorists
in Iraq who want to derail the democratic process, who want to derail
-- or who want to undermine freedom and democracy for the Iraqi
people. The vast majority of the Iraq people are committed to freedom
and democracy. And we are working closely with the Iraqi people and
the coalition to move forward on democracy and freedom as quickly as
possible for the Iraqi people.

Q Will the Iraqis themselves be capable of taking a far bigger
role in handling this, starting July 1st? Are they ready?

MR. McCLELLAN: As you know, that the President made it very clear
that he is firmly committed to transferring sovereignty to the Iraqi
people at the end of June. And there will be an interim government
that will be in place for a short amount of time before elections are
conducted early next year.

Q Does he still believe, in light of all the events the last
couple of weeks, does he still believe that they're ready for that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, that we -- Iraqis are more and more -- more
and more Iraqis -- or more and more, the Iraqi people are assuming
responsibility for their future. Whether it's in the area of security,
or in the area of education and health care, or other sectors of the
economy, the Iraqi people are assuming more and more responsibility for
their future. We are working very closely with leaders in Iraq to move
forward on the transfer of sovereignty at the end of June. We are in
constant and close discussions with Iraqi leaders about the shape and
form of the interim government that will serve as they transition to a
elected government.

Q Scott, is Prime Minister Blair coming to visit the President
next week? And with Brahimi on the ground this week, do you think by
the time of that visit, if it happens, there will be discussions or
better able to discuss the exact form of this interim government that's
been undefined as of yet?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, let me just answer that by saying this -- we
have not made any announcement about any meeting in the future with
Prime Minister Blair. Obviously, the President and Prime Minister meet
on a fairly frequent basis and they're always in constant contact with
one another. And we will keep you posted on the schedule.

Q Next week in Washington?

MR. McCLELLAN: We will keep you posted on the schedule. Nothing
to announce today.

Q -- the second part of the question -- with Brahimi on the
ground, do you expect, in the near future, any greater clarity about
the nature of this interim government since the President is sticking
to June 30th as the transfer date?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think Ambassador Bremer talked earlier
today about how we are in close discussion with Iraqi leaders about the
form and shape of the interim government and what it will -- and we
want to make sure that there is a representative government in place by
the end of June to assume responsibility in that interim period between
-- before elections are held early next year. And we remain in close
discussion with the Iraqi leaders. Certainly we believe the United
Nations has a vital role to play in all these efforts. And so we
welcome their efforts.

Q -- a representative government, does that mean that there
could be some sort of role for Sistani or his choice for this potential
government, perhaps, to quell some of this violence that's been going
on?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think if you're talking -- you're now
combining different leaders together, I think, in that question. So I
wouldn't necessarily --

Q Well, given that he has more credibility --

MR. McCLELLAN: The premise of your question, if you're talking
about Sadr, who is one individual, and some of his followers who are
seeking to derail the democratic process in Iraq.

Q Given that Sistani is the respected elder among --

MR. McCLELLAN: Obviously, I'm not going to speculate from here.
The Coalition Provisional Authority is working closely with Iraqi
leaders and others as we move forward on the transfer of sovereignty
and what the representative government will look like.

Q Scott, you made it clear that the President leaves troop
level discussions or decisions to the military planners. But can you
tell us if he's been involved in discussions with his military planners
about the current level of troops and whether they're satisfactory to
meet the mission right now?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll say that he is always in close contact with
his military leaders and he meets with Secretary Rumsfeld on a regular
basis, he talks with commanders on a regular basis, as well. But I'm
not going -- I'm not going to get into those discussions. His focus in
those discussions is to make sure they have all the resources they need
to do their job.

Q Does the President regret not arresting Sadr months ago when
the warrant came out and, perhaps, they had a clear shot of getting
him?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, I think those are questions best
directed to people in the field. I can't speculate from here whether
or not what you said is even true, the premise of your question. But
--

Q -- knowledge that it's true, that the warrant went out months
ago.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, yes, but whether or not they had a shot to
get him -- that was part of your question -- I couldn't tell you
whether if that's accurate or not. So I think you need to direct that
question to the Coalition Provisional Authority. But, look, they made
the statement yesterday in regards to the arrest warrant, and the
coalition will follow through on --

MR. McCLELLAN: We had a story out today that al Qaeda was not
mentioned in the final Clinton report and bin Laden was mentioned only
four times in the 45,000-page report. Does that undercut Clarke's
claim that the Clinton administration was more focused than the Bush
administration on al Qaeda?

MR. McCLELLAN: I saw the story today. Again, right now the 9/11
Commission continues to do its work. Our focus is on making sure the
9/11 Commission has access to all the information that they have
requested and that they need to do their job. And that's exactly what
we have been doing.

Obviously, a lot of these are issues that the 9/11 Commission is
looking at now, as they work to complete their report. And they're
looking back not only at the eight months when this administration was
in office prior to September 11th, but the eight years prior to that,
as well, when these threats were building and emerging.

Q Is Sadr being supported by Iran? Do you know?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't have any information on that.

Q Would you like to see Sistani exert some influence over
Sadr?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not going to try to speak to -- for leaders in
Iraq. I'll just speak from our standpoint. But again, that is one
individual and a relatively small number of followers who are seeking
to derail democracy and freedom for the Iraqi people. And we will not
let that happen. The Iraqi people will not let that happen.

Q Are you suggesting that Sadr is acting independently? Are
you suggesting that he doesn't have any foreign assistance or support
in this current situation?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't have any information to share with you on
that.

Q Does the President see this stage right now in Iraq as being
particularly crucial? Is he worried that this could be a watershed
date in terms of which way Iraq goes?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think I'd look at it that way. You heard
him yesterday talk about the closer we get to transferring sovereignty,
the more these thugs and terrorists and remnants of the former regime
will try to shake our will. But they cannot shake our will. Our
resolve and strength are firm. This is about helping the Iraqi people
realize a brighter future. This is about advancing democracy and
freedom in a very dangerous region of the world. And this is critical
to moving forward and winning the war on terrorism, because it will
help bring about greater stability in a dangerous part of the world.

Q One last question. Senator Kerry said yesterday that he
found it troubling to him that the lack of Arab -- other Arab countries
supporting U.S. efforts in Iraq, and that it's important for the entire
Arab world that there be a free and stable Iraq. Can you talk at all
about sort of -- does the President wish that there was greater Arab
support, perhaps public support for what the United States is doing in
Iraq?

MR. McCLELLAN: Without getting into -- I think the campaign would
be glad to talk to you more about some of the comments made in the
course of the political campaign. But I think that the international
community recognizes that regardless of where you were prior to the
war, that this is about helping the Iraqi people realize a better and
brighter future. This is about helping the Iraqi people build a free
and peaceful and prosperous future. And so we -- there is a strong
coalition of nations working to support the Iraqi people's efforts to
realize freedom and democracy. And we are always in close contact with
Arab nations, as well. In fact, the President has got a meeting next
week with President Mubarak here in -- back in Crawford.

Q You said the U.N. has a vital role to play. Are they playing
that role?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that, one, they were playing that role
previously. They have been playing an important role recently, as
well. And we look forward to continuing to work with the U.N. so that
they can continue to play a vital role. They certainly have a lot of
expertise to offer in the areas of elections and the drafting of a
constitution, and so forth. So, yes, we believe that they have a vital
role to play and that they are playing more and more of a vital role to
help the Iraqi people.

Q Has a date been for the testimony yet -- meeting, has a date
been set for the meeting yet?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't have anything to announce on that.

Q But has a date been set? Forget announcing the date. Has a
date been set?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the chairman and vice-chairman
addressed that on some of the Sunday shows on Sunday. But there's
nothing to announce on that at this point.

Q But a date has been set, you just can't announce it?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm just not going to get into announcing a date or
anything at this point. But the President looks forward to the
meetings.

Q Scott, we're trying not to look like idiots in front of our
editors with this New York Times story on Blair. Can you tell us, on
background, if everyone agrees, whether Blair is coming next week?

MR. McCLELLAN: There's nothing to announce at this point.
Obviously, when there are meetings with world leaders, such as ones
you're asking about, those announcements are typically arranged in a
way that is mutually agreed to, so that both countries can announce
those at the same time. And I'm just not in a position to announce
anything at this point.